TT’s Gittens sets nat’l record, cops gold at Indoor Champs

TT track and field athlete Tyra Gittens copped gold and bronze medals and set a national record and a new personal best, at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships.

The meet was held on February 28 and 29, at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium ,in College Station, Texas.

The Texas A&M student placed first in the women’s pentathlon final, on Friday, with a total of 4,391 points. Georgia’s Anna Hall trailed with 4,166 points, and G’Auna Edwards of Arkansas in third with 4047 points.

She broke the previous national record for the event, also set by her in 2018, of 4197 points.

A pentathlon is an event that requires athletes to participate in five different track and field events, with the winner being determined by totalling the points across all events. Gittens competed in the women’s shot put throw, 60-metre hurdles, 800m race, high jump, and a long jump.

In the hurdles, she finished fifth, clocking a time of 8.52 seconds.

She placed third in the high jump to achieve a personal (indoor) best of 1.86 metres, and was first in the shot put with a throw of 13.05m. She also finished first in the women’s long jump with a jump of 6.27m.

In the 800m race, she placed thirteenth and finished with a time of two minutes, 32.76 seconds.

In the individual long jump event (separate from the pentathlon) she placed fourth after displaying a 6.27m leap once again.

In an Instagram post, Gittens said, “I am blessed to have amazing trainers, coaches, teammates, and loved ones who are here with me through my journey. God’s timing is never wrong, I just need to stay patient and work harder.”

In 2018, she copped gold in the women's heptathlon with 6,074 points, at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Tennessee, US, becoming the first TT athlete to surpass 6,000 points in the event.